Chapel Road Little Explorers Limited

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and practitioners have a secure understanding of children's individual needs and quickly identify emerging barriers to learning. Robust assessment, close observation and effective partnerships with families and external professionals ensure that children receive timely and targeted support. As a result, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, thrive.

Practitioners know children well and adapt teaching to enable every child to participate successfully in the ambitious curriculum alongside their peers. For example, practitioners model language well. As a result, children have excellent communication skills. Parents speak highly of the significant progress their children have made since attending the nursery.

Leaders use additional funding purposefully. Early years pupil premium funding has been used to purchase sensory resources, communication aids and targeted learning materials based on children's individual interests. Specialist training for practitioners ensures children are supported effectively and that funding usage is impactful.

Partnership working is a particular strength of the nursery. Leaders work collaboratively with health professionals and external agencies to ensure support is consistent and responsive. Individual support plans are reviewed regularly and adapted as children's needs change. Consequently, children benefit from a highly inclusive environment where they feel valued, achieve well and are fully supported to reach their potential.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

The curriculum is ambitious, well sequenced and implemented consistently by knowledgeable practitioners who have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn and why. Learning builds purposefully on children's prior knowledge, interests and developmental needs, enabling children to make meaningful connections in their learning. For example, practitioners incorporated rhythm and movement activities into the curriculum following children's enthusiasm for football and music, using coordinated movements, positional language and varying tempo to develop children's physical coordination, listening skills and communication.

The curriculum develops children's understanding of the wider world by placing families and the local community at its heart. Leaders actively encourage parents to share their own cultures, faiths and traditions, ensuring learning is authentic and meaningful. For example, during Diwali celebrations, a parent visited the nursery in traditional clothing, spoke to children and introduced them to henna art. Community experiences, including visits to care homes, libraries and local services, alongside celebrations of a wide range of festivals, help children develop respect for diversity and an appreciation of communities beyond their own experiences.

Teaching is adapted effectively to meet the needs of all children while maintaining high expectations. Mathematical and communication skills are woven naturally throughout daily routines and planned experiences. For example, practitioners consistently model positional language, counting and comparative vocabulary during play, outdoor learning and mealtimes. Consequently, children become confident communicators, enthusiastic learners and active participants who remain deeply engaged in their learning across all areas of the curriculum.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make rapid progress from their individual starting points and achieve well across the 7 areas of learning, including those with barriers to learning and those in receipt of additional funding. They build securely on previous learning, developing the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to be successful learners.

Children confidently apply previously acquired knowledge and skills in new situations. For example, they explain that warm water melts ice and independently use mathematical language during play, demonstrating that learning is securely embedded over time. Children are confident communicators who readily share their ideas, experiences and opinions with adults and their peers.

Children are well prepared for the next stage in their learning. They leave the nursery as confident, resilient and capable learners who demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for a successful move to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Children demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning and are highly motivated to explore, investigate and persevere. They remain deeply engaged in activities for sustained periods, confidently making choices about their learning and eagerly sharing their ideas with practitioners and their peers. The calm, purposeful environment enables every child to participate fully, creating a culture where learning is valued and enjoyed.

Practitioners establish high expectations from an early age and consistently support children to develop confidence, independence and respect for others. For example, following a rhythm and rhyme activity, children listened carefully to practitioners' instructions and independently returned the drumsticks sensibly, patiently waiting for their turn without reminders. Throughout the day, children willingly share resources, use good manners naturally and demonstrate kindness towards one another.

Well-established routines help children feel safe, secure and confident within the nursery. Daily experiences, including mealtimes, group activities and transitions, are organised thoughtfully and provide consistent opportunities for children to develop independence, communication and self-regulation. Children understand what is expected of them, confidently follow instructions and move calmly between activities while maintaining high levels of engagement.

Attendance procedures are effective and contribute positively to children's wellbeing. Leaders work closely with families to monitor attendance and respond promptly to any concerns, ensuring children remain safe.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Practitioners place children's health, safety and emotional wellbeing at the heart of everyday practice. Warm, nurturing relationships and well-established routines help children feel safe, secure and confident within the nursery. Practitioners know children well and respond sensitively to their individual needs, enabling children to develop resilience, emotional security and a strong sense of belonging.

Children develop an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves healthy through meaningful everyday experiences. For example, practitioners use engaging oral health activities to teach children why they brush their teeth twice a day, encouraging discussion about healthy habits through sensory experiences, stories and practical resources.

Healthy lifestyles are promoted consistently throughout the nursery. Children enjoy freshly prepared meals, independently serve their food and pour their own drinks while practitioners reinforce healthy choices by discussing how nutritious food helps their bodies grow, learn and play.

Children are becoming increasingly independent in managing their own care and wellbeing. For instance, even the youngest children confidently feed themselves using cutlery, while practitioners encourage independence during mealtimes and daily routines. Children's emotional wellbeing is equally well supported. New children are helped to settle through consistent key-person relationships and close communication with parents, ensuring they quickly feel safe and secure. As a result, children develop confidence, resilience and the skills needed to manage their own health, wellbeing and independence.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have established a highly reflective and supportive culture where children, families and practitioners thrive. They have a secure understanding of the nursery's strengths and continually evaluate practice to ensure that provision responds effectively to the changing needs of the children and community.

Professional development is purposeful and closely aligned to the cohort of children attending the nursery, enabling practitioners to continually strengthen their knowledge and improve outcomes for children.

Leaders invest significantly in developing practitioners' professional expertise and carefully monitor the impact of training on practice. For example, staff have undertaken professional development to strengthen their expertise in supporting children's speech, language and communication, including meeting the needs of children who speak English as an additional language. Practitioners are expected to reflect on how this learning influences their practice, resulting in consistent, high-quality teaching and more effective support for children with barriers to learning.

Support for practitioners is a particular strength of the nursery. Robust induction programmes, regular supervisions and professional discussions ensure that staff feel confident, well supported and clear about their roles and responsibilities. New practitioners and apprentices receive effective mentoring from experienced colleagues, enabling them to quickly develop the knowledge and confidence needed to contribute positively to children's learning and development.

Leaders place equal importance on staff wellbeing, recognising its positive impact on children. Practitioners speak highly of the supportive culture, describing leaders as approachable and committed to both their professional development and personal wellbeing. As a result, staff are highly committed, motivated learners.